Playing a Game
by E-quaintance
Summary: Hikaru is the more active twin, so why would he sit back and not do something—anything—to help his younger brother from bullies if he could? A short and simple oneshot to satisfy my feelings. Hikaru-centric.


**Disclaimer** : I don't own!

 **Author's Note** : So I recently have been devouring twin stories like candy and have come to wonder why Kaoru is ninety-percent the one who dies, or the one who is assaulted, or the one who always gets the short end of the stick. Hikaru is pretty much useless despite being the more active twin. This is a take on how I think one of these bullying stories can go—with Hikaru as the main character. Enjoy this short and simple oneshot!

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 _"There is a special bond between twin soul mates—unconditional love, respect for each other, bringing out the best in each other, and highly compatible."_

~Mettrie L.

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Hikaru scowled at his unblemished reflection in the window, wringing his hands unsurely in nervous energy. Turning around, the older twin peered at his younger brother. Kaoru was sleeping in their bed, his breathing shallow and calm as it rose and fell in steady intervals. The dark blue patches on his skin that bloomed across his face stood in stark contrast to his pale coloring. Kaoru was smiling lightly in his sleep, and Hikaru studied the soft curve of his lips before resolutely looking away.

The older twin hissed under his breath and fisted his hands, feeling his nails dig into the tender spot of his palm. The guilt and shame were overpowering him, and he just wanted to hit something. Preferably, the thugs who had dared to touch his twin. But as the administration pointed out, a student getting involved like that would only make matters worse, and it was necessary for Hikaru to stay out of their way of investigation. Going to the school and reporting the incident had been Kaoru's thoughtful suggestion, but the removal of Hikaru's power to protect and take revenge was making him slightly regret the involvement. He was doing this for Kaoru, though, so his selfish thoughts were pushed away and drowned out with concern for his doppelganger.

Hikaru quietly crept out of the room after assuring himself of his other half's deep and peaceful slumber. His feet padded softly across the marble floor of the mansion as he aimlessly walked the halls. He gingerly rubbed thin fingers over his smooth cell-phone case, wondering if he should call someone. Worry and concern and anger were all warring inside him. His thirst for revenge was the hardest to quell.

Stopping to lean against the wall, Hikaru dialed up the number most recently called and patiently waited for the click of an answer. He didn't care who he talked to or what about, he just needed a distraction.

" _Hello_!" A happy voice chirped despite the hours of the night being less than welcoming.

Hikaru pursed his lips and clenched the phone tighter. He greeted casually, "Boss."

Tamaki interrupted his nonsensical sentence about bed time and stopped short to ask in a confused yet worried tone, " _Hikaru_?"

Hikaru frowned and dropped his head against the wall, closing his eyes. "What?"

" _Your tone just got really flat_ ," Tamaki explained before he paused and gasped dramatically. He was moving on too quickly for Hikaru to appreciate his perceptive insight. " _Did something happen? You can tell your daddy!_ "

Hikaru assured the blond that he and his twin were fine and listened to his over-exaggerated worry stream from the speakers. As he listened, his mind slipped back to the day before. He had walked home that day because Kaoru had mentioned that he would be staying late to study. Feeling particularly generous, the older twin offered their ride to Kaoru, who accepted it with proud smile. It had felt good, little sparks of joy surrounding Hikaru's heart at the loving smile, so the walk had really been no bother. But he shouldn't have left his twin alone. He should have been there. What kind of twin was he? He had been feeling pleased the whole day; even when his twin must have been getting hurt, he had still been happy as he unknowingly worked on his math homework.

Kaoru had come to him, though, crying and worried and concerned about _Hikaru's_ health. They had threatened to hurt his twin, and Kaoru couldn't allow that, as unbearably selfless as the redhead was. Hikaru had listened to the whole story of where and why and when, but not _who_ had hurt his twin.

He felt like crying.

Tamaki's pleasant voice hummed on about dogs, and Hikaru forced himself to pay attention. He allowed himself to listen to the teenager babble for a couple more moments before he interrupted with a sudden thought. "Have you ever been bullied by other students, boss?"

Tamaki stuttered on the other line. Hikaru didn't have the heart to smirk at the man's reaction. He opened his eyes to stare blurrily at the floor designs made of swirling gold and red lines.

" _No_ ," he finally answered quietly, truthfully. Hikaru nodded, not really expecting more to come of the conversation. A feeling ached in his stomach, and he ignored it. He was surprised when the cheery blond continued somberly, " _By my family, yes_."

He didn't need to specify who he was referring to. Hikaru peered at the rich coloring of the floor with renewed interest, not knowing what to say.

" _Do you want to tell me something, Hikaru_?" the prince asked kindheartedly. Hikaru wondered at the concerned and overly protective tone.

"No," he drawled slowly, confused.

" _You would tell me if you needed help, right? You wouldn't leave your daddy in the dark?"_

What was that moron talking about?

Help for what?

Oh.

 _Oh_.

Hikaru chuckled hollowly and squeezed his eyes shut. Tamaki sounded even more concerned on the other end. "Don't be a moron, boss, I'm not being bullied."

Perhaps it was because Hikaru was actually telling the truth that the host king dropped his questions and simply fell silent. Hikaru opened his mouth but he didn't know what else to say so he closed it again. He felt useless.

"I should go, I guess. Thanks for listening to me so late at night," Hikaru felt obligated to say. His twin would have made sure he was at least somewhat polite to the boss at these hours, especially when the man was indulging Hikaru.

" _Early in the morning_ ," Tamaki corrected absently. He yawned loudly and it spread to Hikaru. They wished each other well, knowing they would see each other at the host club meeting later that day.

When Hikaru stumbled into bed with Kaoru and simply listened to him breathe, he couldn't resist wrapping his arms around Kaoru's thin waist and pulling him to his chest. Curled up together, Hikaru soon fell asleep with the warmth of his twin around him.

He had to protect his twin. He wasn't going to fail again.

When Hikaru woke up the next morning, Kaoru had already slipped out of bed. Hikaru dug his face into his pillow with an internal reprimanding at how late he had stayed up. Feeling groggy and moody, though, did nothing to deter his determination to find his twin. Sitting up on the bed, Hikaru pushed himself up and followed the sound of running water.

He knocked lightly on the bathroom door, calling, "Kaoru?"

His younger brother answered back loudly, "Yeah, I'll be out in a minute."

Hikaru nodded, accepting the response. He stumbled over to his bed and collapsed on the soft cushions, closing his eyes as he waited. He awoke to the feeling of water streaming down his face. Was he crying in his sleep again? Hikaru slowly opened his eyes to see bright hazel eyes identical to his own watching him. Hikaru raised a brow and then scowled when Kaoru's innocent smiled widened.

"Did you have to pour water on me?" he asked, grumbling as he pulled himself up, feeling his wet hair with a cranky expression. Kaoru smiled brightly and Hikaru looked away from the blue circles interrupting his twin's white skin.

"You weren't waking up," his twin replied calmly. He continued before Hikaru could reply. "Besides, you said you wanted to talk to me?"

Though Hikaru had never said those words vocally, he had said them nonetheless. "Yeah." Kaoru waited patiently as he perched himself next to Hikaru on the bed. They leaned against each other. The mirror-image of them was broken only by the dark bruises on Kaoru's face. Hikaru clenched his hands together. Taking time to find the right words, the older redhead continued hesitantly, uncharacteristically unsure, "I want to play 'which one of us is Hikaru?' at the club today."

Kaoru smiled acceptingly, looping his arms around the older twin. "That's okay with me, Hikaru. Is that why you're so tense?"

Hikaru pulled a smile and hoped it was loving enough that the broken edges wouldn't be noticeable. He swallowed the lump in his throat. "What are you going to do about the bruises?"

Kaoru chuckled and ruffled Hikaru's wet hair as he stood up. Hikaru watched him duck into the bathroom and then come back out holding a stick of makeup.

"Concealer?" Hikaru asked, knowing the answer already. Kaoru nodded and then went about putting the skin-toned cream over his bruises. They exchanged pleasant, identical grins and Hikaru resolutely dismissed the growing butterflies in his stomach. Kaoru continued to smile, unaware.

The day went by pretty lazily for the twins. They ambushed Haruhi and giggled at pranks and jokes as much as they ever did. Kaoru stuck to his friends and Hikaru, and was never alone, for reasons obvious to his brother. Hikaru played for as long as he could, until finally his smile slipped and his breathing stuttered. He was going to protect his twin and it was now or never. Neither Haruhi nor Kaoru noticed that their first-year-trio was decidedly missing its third member until it was too late. They were absorbed in their studies of classic literature and the older redhead liked it that way.

Hikaru ran a hand through his hair and then parted it to the right. As he roamed the halls, he adopted his twin's soft smile and pensive look. The people he passed greeted him as his twin, and Hikaru knew no one played pretend as well as he did.

He determinedly made his way to the same place Kaoru had been hurt at the same time Kaoru had been hurt, relaying the information in his mind over and over. Anger sizzled in the redhead's heart and he hoped that his loosely pulled together plan would work. When he finally stood in front of an unoccupied hallway near a bathroom that was more often than not out of order, there was no sound except for the nervous shifting of Hikaru's shoes against the polished floor. There was no one in sight.

Suddenly feeling very idiotic as he stared at the immaculate but _empty_ hallway, Hikaru berated himself on how he could have possibly expected the same culprits to be stupid enough to be in the same place the next day. _Kaoru_ was the smart twin, not _Hikaru_.

Then a conversation floated to his ears. Panicking only because a sharp piercing of intuition stabbed his stomach, Hikaru managed to throw himself into the bathroom as he dismissed the out of order sign posted on the wall.

A sharp chuckle reverberated in the deserted hallway and footsteps stalked in front of the bathroom. Hikaru nervously pulled at his blazer, wondering who these students were and why they were here. Angry hope that it was the bullies was squashed as he listened to the footsteps slow. Why would they come back here for no good reason? He needed to stop deluding himself—why would he be able to protect his twin now when before he didn't even _know_ Kaoru was in trouble?

The student kicked the door open and it slapped the wall with pathetic moan.

"You _fag_ ," a man hissed. Hikaru stumbled back in horrified surprise, the sudden noise and aggression startling him. His reaction must have reassured the student because he took a confident step forward, talking all the while. "I told you not to tell anyone. I'm going to tear apart your brother and make you watch, Kaoru."

Hikaru stumbled back a step, his mind racing. He never expected this to work. Should he fight, should he admit the man got the wrong twin… _why was this so much easier in his head_?

"Well?" the man huffed with a shark-like smirk. His smiled dropped a little as he studied Hikaru's unblemished face. "I see you're hiding my artwork. You and your fag twin trying to hide your disgustingness. Shall I fuck you this time? Can't hide all the blood that'll make."

Hikaru's heartbeat sped up, but not in fear. In pure, unfiltered anger. Hikaru had always been the twin to take action and now was no different. With an animalistic roar the only warning, Hikaru pounced on the student kicking and screaming and clawing. The male had fallen back in shock at the jump and personality-change within the calmer twin but was soon pulled into fighting back for sheer survival with the way the redhead was attacking.

Hikaru finally managed to straddle the bigger boy. "You," Hikaru punched the man's face with closed fist, just avoiding his eye, "fucker," he punched again at the same place, "I'll kill you."

The man's eyes rolled to the back of his head. Hikaru smiled grimly and, using all his strength, tossed the unconscious but alive body against the far end of the bathroom wall. The fight had only lasted a minute, at most. Feeling accomplished but drained, Hikaru skipped out of the bathroom feeling lighter than he had in days.

There was a reason Kaoru was considered the more perceptive twin. Hikaru could only watch, understanding too late, when a pale hand grasped his shoulder and flung him onto his back.

Two older boys were staring down at him in disgust and anger.

They had been guarding the door.

Hikaru cursed himself for not realizing it sooner. In hindsight, he was lucky the fight hadn't lasted long enough for the two minions to help their horrible boss until Hikaru was already out of the door. He should have known that the student he was sure had mob ties would bring back-ups.

"Kaoru," they growled and Hikaru felt like laughing insanely. They still thought he was his twin!

A kick to the redhead's stomach pushed all thought to the side as Hikaru gasped and curled into himself reflexively. Another kick far too close to his head was averted only by the older twin rolling over and blindly kicking his feet at the shorter of the two bullies, all the while persistently yelling mocking words at the two big students.

A high shout froze the three in the positions they were holding. Hikaru was the first to curiously glance at the end of the hallway. He smiled and had enough strength for a happy but weak wave. The two bullies exchanged glances before they turned to flee.

As the bullies were being taken care of by Honey and Mori, Hikaru pulled himself to his knees. Tamaki reached him first and offered his hand. Pulling himself up, Hikaru immediately turned and hugged Kaoru, whose face had turned ashen. Hikaru stepped back moments later with a wider-than-ever grin. He may have looked a tad too devilish because Haruhi side-stepped away from his attempt at a hug, looking at him flatly but not enough to conceal the concern sparkling in her wondrous brown eyes. Kyoya pushed his glasses up and gave Hikaru a cold stare. Feeling overly confident, Hikaru only smirked and winked slowly at the taller teenager. Kyoya's eyebrows shot up minutely and Kaoru swatted unrepentantly at his twin before he could relish in his victory at the reaction.

Hikaru's grin dropped to a content smile for the club members. He sighed with the smile. "Thanks."

"What were you thinking, Hikaru?"

When Hikaru opened his mouth, Kyoya interrupted cooly with the more important question. "Why were you pretending to be Kaoru?"

Hikaru shrugged slowly. His eyes met concerned periwinkle and then Tamaki interrupted the interrogation by herding everyone away to the music room except the twins. Kyoya had already poked his head in the bathroom and was talking on his phone as he calmly followed the group. Hikaru didn't have time to thank the older teens because soon the identical redheads were holding each other tightly and cherishing their moment together.

"You didn't have to do that, Hikaru," he murmured into the silence. Hikaru rested his chin against the soft locks of Kaoru's hair.

"I did. I'll protect you, Kaoru."

There was short, comfortable pause.

Kaoru wondered, curious as to how Hikaru had found the assailants, "How?"

Hikaru understood the meaning, as the twins oh so often did. "We'd played the game. They lost."

The game.

Which one of us is Hikaru?

Kaoru pecked his brother's cheek with a chaste kiss. They shared a loving smile.

Hikaru wasn't ever going to just sit back when his twin was hurting. They looked identical, and Hikaru was the best at playing pretend. After all, he was just playing their game.

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 _fin_

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 **Author's Note** : I wrote this 'cause I wanted Hikaru to actually _do_ something to help his twin whenever I hear about Kaoru getting hurt. He may not be as perceptive, but hell if he can't think of _something_ on his own.

I would also like to disclaim any support for the use of fag in the demeaning context as used in this story. Fag is a cigarette; _it is not a person_ {unless that person is a British student working menial tasks for a higher-classed student.}

Thanks for reading, loves!

((Annnnd, I kinda get that it's kinda a crack pairing, but I have the burning desire for Tamaki/Hikaru stories that just won't go away. They would be so cute together, gosh. I dunno why I love them so much, 'cause for me normally romance is kinda boring. Does anyone else feel the same way?))


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